- The Federal Government is beginning a new promotional campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.
- Many federal agencies continue to develop and update COVID guidances including: COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit; payment and billing HCPCS Level I CPT code structure for specific COVID-19 vaccine; COVID-19 Provider Toolkit; Information About Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine; Information about COVID-19 Vaccines for People with Allergies; COVID-19 Vaccines and Severe Allergic Reactions; and/or Get Your Clinic Ready for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), among many others.
Congress
- The Senate is set to vote on the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the American Rescue Plan. This Democrat-led bill is not expected to receive any Republican support. Democrats are using the budget reconciliation process to pass the bill with a simple majority in the Senate without Republican support. If all 50 Democrats support the bill and all 50 Republicans oppose the bill, Vice President Kamala Harris will break a tie in favor of Democrats.
- The Senate is making changes to the House-passed version of the bill. If passed by the Senate, the bill would go back to the House for a vote on the updated version.
White House and Federal Agencies
- With the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reminds providers to use its payment and HCPCS Level I CPT code structure for specific COVID-19 vaccine billing information. It reminds providers to only bill Medicare for the vaccine administration codes when claims are submitted to Medicare; don’t include the vaccine product codes when the vaccines are free.
- Related links:
- CMS COVID-19 Provider Toolkit
- CMS COVID-19 FAQs (PDF)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit for medical centers, clinics, and clinicians
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) COVID-19 Vaccines webpage
- CMS updated its Medicare Billing for COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Administration toolkit.
- The CMS Office of Minority Health published updated COVID-19 Resources on Vulnerable Populations fact sheets.
- Related links:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Updates
- The CDC updated its websites for:
- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine – United States, February 2021
- Overall US COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration Update as of Thu, 04 Mar 2021 06:00:00 EST
- Information About Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
- Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) Questions
- Understanding Viral Vector COVID-19 Vaccines
- Information about the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
- Information about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
- Different COVID-19 Vaccines
- Information about COVID-19 Vaccines for People with Allergies
- COVID-19 Vaccines and Severe Allergic Reactions
- Communication Resources for COVID-19 Vaccines
- Workplaces and Businesses
- Guidance for U.S. Healthcare Facilities about Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Get Your Clinic Ready for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Monitoring Systems for Pregnant People
- Schools and Childcare Programs
Economy, Vaccines, Testing and Treatment
- President Biden expects to have enough vaccine doses for every American adult by the end of May. He wants to prioritize vaccinating teachers so that schools can re-open.
- The Federal Government helped broker an agreement between Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Merck to have Merck help manufacture J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine to expedite production of the vaccine.
- The Federal Government is beginning a new promotional campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.